Neatorama

Chicks Are No Dummies: They Can Do Math! Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:28 PM PDT Photo: Rugani et al. They may be just 3 or 4 days old, but chicks can already do simple arithmetic. Inspired by experiments with human babies, Rosa Rugani of the University of Trento Center for Mind/Brain Science in Italy and colleagues decided to test chick’s mathematic abilities: … Rugani and her colleagues worked out tests based on adding objects to and taking them away from little piles behind screens. With no special math coaching, the chicks did a decent job of keeping track of object shifts representing such problems as 4 – 2 = 2 and 1 + 2 = 3, she and her colleagues report online March 31 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “This is the first demonstration of adding and subtracting in young animals” other than humans, Rugani says. Other animals, including some primates and dogs, have demonstrated numerical powers as adults. Link

Ron Arad’s Bookcase Shaped Like the United States of America Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:27 PM PDT Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends (2009) by Ron Arad The meaning behind the name of Ron Arad’s USA-shaped bookcase (Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends - whaaaa?), but it’s easy to see how cool it would be hanging on the wall! It’s currently being exhibited at the Timothy Taylor Gallery: Link - via otto

Robot Makes Scientific Discovery Entirely On Its Own Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:26 PM PDT And so it has begun: scientists have created a robotic system that has made novel scientific discovery without any human input: Scientists designed "Adam" to carry out the entire scientific process on its own: formulating hypotheses, designing and running experiments, analyzing data, and deciding which experiments to run next. "It’s a major advance," says David Waltz of the Center for Computational Learning Systems at Columbia University. "Science is being done here in a way that incorporates artificial intelligence. It’s automating a part of the scientific process that hasn’t been automated in the past." [...] Adam’s British designers, led by Ross King at Aberystwyth University in Wales, acknowledge that the robot’s discoveries have been "of a modest kind" thus far. Its proving ground as a scientist has been the genome of baker’s yeast, a popular laboratory species. Baker’s yeast is one of the best understood organisms, but 10 to 15 percent of its roughly 6,000 genes have unknown functions. The scientists hoped Adam could shed light on some of these mystery genes. I, for one, welcome our new robot scientist overlords: Link

Chocolate Helps You Do Better in Math Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:25 PM PDT Bad at math? Try chocolate! At least that’s what researchers Emma Wightman, David Kennedy and colleagues found in the latest (and yummiest) scientific study: Mental arithmetic became easier after volunteers had been given large amounts of compounds found in chocolate, called flavanols, in a hot cocoa drink. They were also less likely to feel tired or mentally drained, the findings, presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Brighton show. Link

Prisoners Smuggle In Cell Phones With … Pigeons! Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:23 PM PDT Prison inmates are an innovative bunch (case in point: pruno), so it should be of no big surprise that they’ve found ways to smuggle contrabands into prison. But this method is surely unique: inmates at a prison farm in Brazil have been using pigeons to smuggle in cell phones! Guards at the Danilio Pinheiro prison near the southeastern city of Sorocaba noticed a pigeon resting on an electric wire with a small cloth bag tied to one of its legs last week. "The guards nabbed the bird after luring it down with some food and discovered components of a small cell phone inside the bag," police investigator Celso Soramiglio said Tuesday. One day later, another pigeon was spotted dragging a similar bag inside the prison’s exercise yard. Inside the bag was the cell phone’s charger, Soramiglio said. Link - via Discoblog

Monkeys Teach Their Young to Floss Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:55 AM PDT Macaque monkeys in Lopburi, Thailand, were observed apparently teaching their young how to floss.  These particular monkeys used human hair from visitors to the shrine.  Because the visitors view the monkeys as divine servants, they allow them to pluck their hair.  Japanese researchers, led by Nobuo Masataka of the University at Kyoto, focused on 7 female Macaque’s each with one year old infants: "I was surprised because teaching techniques on using tools properly to a third party are said to be an activity carried out only by humans," he said. The study focused on the observation of seven female long-tailed macaques and interaction with their off spring at a colony of monkeys near Bangkok in Thailand. The practice of teeth flossing doubled and became significantly more elaborate when they were in the presence of infant monkeys, suggesting that they were attempting to teach the technique to the young. "The study is still at the hypothesis stage," said Professor Masataka. "We would like to shift our focus to the baby monkeys to check whether the mothers' actions are effectively helping them learn how to clean their teeth." Link From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Help Tokyoflash Design Their New Clock Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:42 AM PDT Our pal Tokyoflash needs your help: they’re designing new (and very neat looking) clocks and are looking for feedback on some product development. Here’s a short survey of 9 different clock designs - are they interesting? Too complicated? Not complicated enough? Take a look: Link - Thanks Paul!

Google Car Pulled Over by the Cops - Now in Google Street View! Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:20 AM PDT Remember the story sent by Neatorama reader Chris Whiteoak about Google Street View Car in Bradford, England, that got pulled over by the police? Well, the street view has been released for UK, and Chris noticed that the entire drama was caught on the all-seeing Google’s cam! Chris walking down the street just before he noticed the police car up the road (pan left to see it in the distance) | Police in pursuit, picking up a fellow policeman | Police pulling over the Google Street View Car Thanks Chris!

Yummy 5 minute coffee cup cake Posted: 04 Apr 2009 10:05 AM PDT Ever had a craving for cake, but making an entire one is too time consuming and buying a whole one goes to waste? How about a single-sized chocolate cake in your coffee mug! Instructables has a great recipe for this quick, easy and very tasty treat.  It takes 2 minutes to prepare and 3 minutes to cook. Top it off with icing sugar or whipped cream. Enjoy! Link - via markycraig From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by claviclekiss.

Ribbit! Frog All Lit Up by Swallowed Christmas Light Posted: 04 Apr 2009 09:52 AM PDT Photo: James Snyder The Daily Dozen feature on National Geographic, edited by photo editor Susan Welchman, is a treasure trove of neat "Your Shots" photos submitted by the magazine’s readers (a selection of which will actually appear on the magazine itself - talk about awesome!). I particularly like this one, submitted by James Snyder who wrote: This is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in my backyard in southern Florida. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. It should be noted that at the time I was taking this photo, I thought this frog was dead having cooked himself from the inside. I’m happy to say I was wrong. After a few shots he adjusted his position. So after I was finished shooting him, I pulled the light out of his mouth and he was fine. Actually, I might be crazy but I don’t think he was very happy when I took his light away. Link to the Daily Dozen (this particular shot by James appeared on the April - Week 1 section)

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